World City Guide

Nightlife

Asia’s World City lives it up by night – most hot in-town venues don’t even get going until midnight. Enterprising Sinophiles can try to get invited along to a local karaoke evening and warble into a mike, over buckets of beer, to Canto-pop videos, or head for one of the local discos in darkest Kowloon. Lan Kwai Fong, the famous square mile of Central with the most relaxed drinking hours and the most intense partying, is still a beating nightlife heart, although its chief developers have expanding their attentions to Shanghai. Soho (‘South of Hollywood Road’) is a slightly more chic and relaxed concentration of leisure spots, just off the Mid-Levels Escalator. Chinese locals tend to favour Tsim Sha Tsui, riddled with bars and clubs. And anyone seeking such things will be pleased to hear that they can get all the action they want in the hostess bars of Wan Chai – destination of many a poor Filipino or Thai peasant maiden. Despite the ludicrously strict noise restrictions on open-air events (proof that well-connected residents have huge clout with City Hall) live music is also hugely popular and well catered for. Check the free listings in BC Magazine (website: http://hk.bcmagazine.net), Where Hong Kong, City Life and HK Magazine for the latest details.

Opening hours in Hong Kong vary by location and dress code and entrance policies can sometimes be restrictive, particularly in the smarter clubs. Some Lan Kwai Fong venues stay open all night, whereas in Soho, the authorities placate local residents by compelling bars to close around 0200 at weekends and around 2400 on weekdays. What is almost uniformly constant is the high drinks prices – often at least HK$40 for a glass of wine or beer. Bar owners blame this on high rates – extortionate property prices certainly drive up prices in every department. Bars often compensate with happy hours, with two-for-one or half-price deals before 2000 or 2100 common. The minimum drinking age in Hong Kong’s public bars is 18 years.

Bars: Escalator watchers can spectate in terrace-like comfort at Stauntons, 10-12 Staunton Street, the prime Soho-watching venue. Mes Amis, 81-85 Lockhart Road, is the most relaxed and civilised of the Wan Chai bars, though Devil’s Advocate, 48-50 Lockhart Road, is fun for a happy hour beer and watching sports on tv. Drinkers wanting a more raw experience should try Dusk Till Dawn, 76 Jaffe Road. La Vie, 9a Sharp Street, is one of the more chic venues in Causeway Bay’s classy bar strip. The staple venue of Lan Kwai Fong, Insomnia, 38-44 D’Aguilar Street, creates an air of quality with its stonework and Florentine-style loggia, then promptly contradicts it with Filipino girl bands and relentless disco. Agave, 33 D’Aguilar Street, directly opposite, serves a marvellous selection of tequilas and margaritas – a staple for the hot summer months. The Fong, a few doors down at 34-36 D’Aguilar Street, is a chic bar-restaurant. California, 30-32 D’Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong, long the citadel of investment bankers and the women they attract, while 2121, at 21 D’Aguilar Street, has the most exclusive and relaxed vantage point over the Lan Kwai Fong. Over in Kowloon, Rick’s Café, 4 Hart Avenue, has some of the longest queues on Saturday night, which must count for something. Kowloon’s two most upscale bars are located high in the sky. Stylish, hip and classy, Aqua, 29/F, One Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, boasts the best panoramic views of Victoria Harbour and a great cocktail menu, while Felix Bar at the Peninsula Hotel, Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, is a Philippe Starck masterpiece which ranks highly as a ‘must visit’. Load up your credit card and dress to impress for both venues.

Casinos: Hong Kong does not have any casinos; instead, they are all a 50-minute jetfoil ride away, in Macau, which is famous as a gambler’s paradise (see Excursions). Jetfoils run all night just to service the Chinese love of gambling. Passports are needed for both the trip and the casinos – the age limit is nominally 21 years. Gambling in Macau is not a sport for the young or the faint hearted. Macau is frequently adding to its stock of casinos, with dress codes ranging from smart casual to formal. New additions include the Sands Macau mega-casino, Avenida da Amizade, next to the Mandarin Oriental hotel (tel: (853) 883 388) and the super-kitsch Pharaoh’s Palace at the Landmark Hotel, 555 Avenida da Amizade (tel: (853) 781 781; website: www.landmarkhotel.com.mo). Other casinos include the Hotel Lisboa and Casino, 2-4 Avenida de Lisboa, the Galaxy Waldo Hotel and Casino, Quarteirão 6, Lote J – Zape, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Casino, 956-1110 Avenida da Amizade, and the Hyatt Regency & Taipa Resort, 2 Estrada Almirante Marques Esparteiro, Taipa Island.

More adventurous souls can always consider one of the discreet but popular Star Cruises ‘leisure’ cruises into international waters (tel: 2317 7711; fax: 2317 5551; e-mail: sales@starcruises.com.hk; website: www.starcruises.com.hk), carefully packaged to leave out references to gambling and a very Chinese experience.

Clubs: Dragon-I, in the upper ground floor of the new development, The Centrium, above Lan Kwai Fong, 60 Wyndham Street, is the new hangout of the stars; socially exclusive but surprisingly ordinary. C Club, 30-32 D’Aguilar Street remains Lan Kwai Fong’s most reliable dance venue. Bar, 22 Jervois Street, is a popular gay and lesbian bar/club. Drop, 39-43 Hollywood Road, just down the hill, under the escalator, is another late-night haven with a restrictive door policy and titanically overpriced drinks. Bling, 3/F Soho Square, 21 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central (tel: 3102 2028), caters to serious clubbers and has a varied line-up of DJs throughout the week, while Yumla, L/B 79 Wyndham Street, Lan Kwai Fong (tel: 2174 2383) is a small club that throbs at weekends to ripping break and house beats. Meanwhile, One-Fifth, at Starcrest, 9 Star Street, is on a far higher plane of Wan Chai nightlife. Club Ing, 4F Convention Plaza, 1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, is a very inconsistent glass and chrome hotel disco but its Thursday hip-hop ‘Ladies’ Night’ is a staple for ex-pat teens and the businessmen who love them.

Live Music: What passes for stadium rock in Hong Kong is usually found at the Hong Kong International Trade and Exhibition Centre (HITEC), 1 Trademart Drive, Kowloon Bay (tel: 2620 2222) or the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Expo Drive (tel: 2582 8888). Filipino live bands, from brilliant to unbearable, swarm across Hong Kong – Dusk Till Dawn, 76 Jaffe Road (tel: 2528 4689), has some of the best, while its strongest nearby competitor is The Wanch, 54 Jaffe Road (tel: 2861 1621). The Edge, in the otherwise exclusive The Centrium, 60 Wyndham Street (tel: 2523 6690), has recently been added to the roster of Filipino band venues. The Cavern, LG/F, Lan Kwai Fong Tower, 33 Wyndham Street (tel: 2121 8969), is currently white hot. Though a 60s-style supper club, where diners pay exclusively for dinner and music show, it is possible to gain entry during weeknights to enjoy the cover bands belting out kitschy renditions of 60s and 70s hits in a retro-chic update of Liverpool’s legendary club.